The Irony in Fire
by Dragon6125
Summary: Ace and Fen (Marco) have a chat about devil fruits and their jobs outside of the virtual world. Part of my Virtual Reality/Modern AU. Main Fic: Playing with Dragons. Can be read separately.


**The Irony in Fire**

"You know what's ironic?" Ace inquired as he whirled around to face a new opponent, his back pressing up against his crewmate's for a brief moment when the other man had done the same.

"There are a lot of things that are ironic, yoi, but we're in the middle of a battle. Now's not the time, Rage." His crewmate reminded him.

"Yeah, yeah. I know, Fen, but I find it ironic that—" Ace paused as he planted his left foot and twisted his hip, sweeping his right foot around to land a kick to an AI marine's skull. "I'm actually a firefighter in real life."

"Switch!" Fen called out and Ace leaped into a back flip, twisting in mid air as Fen ducked beneath him.

"Fire fist!" Ace called out his attack, activating the skill. His right fist flashed red before turning to flame as he punched the air, launching a wave of flames towards the enemy and landing with cat-like grace.

"A firefight, yoi?" Fen inquired, his voice laced with an undertone of surprise and intrigue.

"Aye. I fight fires for a living and now here I am fighting with fire." Ace smirked.

It wasn't until after the battle concluded that Ace and Fen continued their talk. Ace's eyes rested on the usernames hovering at the corner of his vision. They were all his party members. There was his own username at the top, BrazillianRage, followed by Fennec205, That guy's username Ace refused to acknowledge (the reddish-brown haired man was not the Prank Master god damn it), and Flintlock.

"So a firefighter, yoi? I have to agree. That is ironic." A lazy voice called out, brining Ace's gaze down to meet the blue of Fen's.

A chuckle bubbled forth from Ace's chest "Yeah, I've found that my performance in the field has gotten much better since I gained this devil fruit of mine, though."

The first division commander took a seat on the deck next to Ace as the fire user mused about his career, looking on in interest. Ace didn't blame him, It wasn't often that anyone shared anything about their lives outside the digital one.

"Even outside in the real world I can feel the flames coursing through my veins. I feel like I can understand them now, and I certainly respect them even more now then I did before. it's rare that we get called out to fight a serious fire, but we did just the other day and I realized that, when I watched the flames, I could predict how they would move and how they would act. I could feel what was going to happen next... it was almost as if the fire were still a part of me. i knew exactly where to direct the team in order to get the fire put out as quickly as possible. It was interesting to say the least." Ace ran his fingers through his tousled locks of black hair with a contemplative sigh and Fen smirked.

"You sound like you really love your job, yoi." Fen mused, looking away and letting his eyes dance over the clouds above.

"That's an understatement. It's the only time that I ever felt - feel - alive before _One Piece_. It was because of my job that I felt like my life had meaning because I got to save and protect the people in my community. As much as I love it, though, every day that does by without a fire is a blessing. I always love the chance to save a life, but a day that goes by when I don't have to is a better day."

An amused looked crossed Fen's features and Ace scowled "What? So what if it's sappy? It's true."

"No, It's not that" Fen waved dismissively "It's just that… I'm in business, yoi."

Ace's eyes widened in surprise "Business? One of the highest ranked players in the entirety of _One Piece,_ First Division Commander Fennec205 of the Whitebeard Pirates himself…. Works a desk job?"

Fen nodded, apparently very amused by Ace's reaction "I sit in a cubical and make spreadsheets all day, yoi." He revealed.

"I would shoot myself." Ace gaped.

"It's not _that_ bad, yoi." Fen sniffed.

"That's a lie and you know it." Ace denied, pointing a finger at Fen accusation.

"Caught me. If I enjoyed my job I probably wouldn't be playing _One Piece_ so much, yoi, let alone sitting near the top of the leaderboards."

"Roosting." Ace corrected with a straight face.

Fen knit his eyebrows in confusion "Pardon, yoi?"

"You're roosting near the top of the leaderboards" Ace elaborated, lips quirking up into a mischievous grin as he shot his friend a sideways glance. "it's a more fitting verb for a turkey like you."


End file.
